NationStates Jolt Archive

Strange that this hadn't already turned up ...

Churches Observe Evolution Sunday
http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/2295781.html

Much of the opposition to the theory of evolution comes from conservative Christians, but Charles Darwin's birthday will be celebrated this Sunday in churches nationwide.

"Evolution Sunday" will be observed at hundreds of liberal and mainline churches whose pastors have agreed to preach a sermon or hold a class or discussion supporting Darwin's theory.

Darwin Day Celebrations, some prompted by the "intelligent design" controversy, also are planned at atheist and humanist societies and public museums nationwide.

Charles Darwin was born on Feb. 12th, 1809.

More than 400 churches around the country, including about a dozen in Texas, are expected to participate Sunday.
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Maybe a hoax but there's a few places reporting it. So what do you think, drop the hackles and join up for some brotherly/sisterly, simian/sapien love? :D

Wah?!

T-these are extreme opposites! Like matter and anti-matter! Do you have ANY IDEA what will happen if you combine them?!

Think of every form of existence blinking out in a split second!

Woohoo! I was born two days before (and many years after) Darwin!

Wah?!

T-these are extreme opposites! Like matter and anti-matter! Do you have ANY IDEA what will happen if you combine them?!

Think of every form of existence blinking out in a split second!

Although it'd suck to be destroyed, that explosion would be SO awesome!

Wah?!

T-these are extreme opposites! Like matter and anti-matter! Do you have ANY IDEA what will happen if you combine them?!

Think of every form of existence blinking out in a split second!
Well, it is Sunday .... besides, i kind of like the idea!!

Here's more ...

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0212darwin0212.html

http://www.science-spirit.org/article_detail.php?article_id=591

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=5762

http://www.evolutionnews.org/2006/02/on_evolution_sunday_its_give_m.html

http://www.livingchurch.org/publishertlc/viewarticle.asp?ID=1693
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Notably, some are more open to the idea than others .... :D

The end is very fucking NIGH on so many levels! Religious, physical, political and theoretical!

If the ungodly explosion doesn't kill us, then the war between Pat Robertson and the second coming of Charles Darwin will!

*heads for bombshelter*

The end is very fucking NIGH on so many levels! Religious, physical, political and theoretical!

If the ungodly explosion doesn't kill us, then the war between Pat Robertson and the second coming of Charles Darwin will!

*heads for bombshelter*
...i smell a screenplay!!
:D

...i smell a screenplay!!
:D

Dan Brown got nothing on me!

Dan Brown got nothing on me!
I don't suppose so.
But be prepared for Kirk Cameron audition videos!!

If the ungodly explosion doesn't kill us, then the war between Pat Robertson and the second coming of Charles Darwin will!


Given how evolution works out, Pat might have the initial advantage of fiery rhetoric and bible flinging by the mindless zombie masses. If Darwin survives the zerg rush however, he could probably have his own troops evolve to something stronger and tougher.

Hmmm, what are the odds? :p

This doesn't surprise me too much, partly because the Bible warned this sort of garbage would happen, and partly because many churches do indeed just plain not care about Genesis in a literal sense, or in fact, many parts of the Bible. Of course, im still surprised just a wee bit....

Then again, these churches might be supporting a definition of evolution not commonly thought of as evolution, literally speaking, the definition of the word evolution is simply to change, and micro-bacteria have indeed been pretty much proven to change. Of course, the big issues is why they change....but I don't want to argue over all that, im just saying, are these churches supporting full blown "We are monkeys with less hair and more smartz" evolution, or is it not quite like that?

This doesn't surprise me too much, partly because the Bible warned this sort of garbage would happen, and partly because many churches do indeed just plain not care about Genesis in a literal sense, or in fact, many parts of the Bible. Of course, im still surprised just a wee bit....

Then again, these churches might be supporting a definition of evolution not commonly thought of as evolution, literally speaking, the definition of the word evolution is simply to change, and micro-bacteria have indeed been pretty much proven to change. Of course, the big issues is why they change....but I don't want to argue over all that, im just saying, are these churches supporting full blown "We are monkeys with less hair and more smartz" evolution, or is it not quite like that?

That's pretty much what they're supporting. We are monkeys with less hair and more smarts, and God made sure we would be. That's what the majority of 1st world Christians believe.

Charles Darwin was born on Feb. 12th, 1809.
Happy Birthday, Chuck!

That's pretty much what they're supporting. We are monkeys with less hair and more smarts, and God made sure we would be. That's what the majority of 1st world Christians believe.

Exactly. Only a handful of Christians have a problem with evolution. They just happen to be a very noisy handful in the US.

The majority of Christian denominations fully accept evolution and reject creation science.

Exactly. Only a handful of Christians have a problem with evolution. They just happen to be a very noisy handful in the US.

The majority of Christian denominations fully accept evolution and reject creation science.
The first article that caught my attention as such mentioned the following:

"Evolution Sunday" has drawn participation from a variety of denominational and nondenominational churches, including Methodist, Lutheran, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Unitarian, Congregationalist, United Church of Christ, Baptist and a host of community churches.

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There's a few i had zero expectation of EVER seeing in this context.

Wah?!

T-these are extreme opposites! Like matter and anti-matter! Do you have ANY IDEA what will happen if you combine them?!

Think of every form of existence blinking out in a split second!


It's just an explosion of energy. It happened a lot in the first second after the big bang.

Dan Brown got nothing on me!
Lol!

*ahem*

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2006-02-12T142553Z_01_N10354697_RTRUKOC_0_US-LEISURE-DAVINCI-OPUSDEI.xml&archived=False
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Opus Dei tackles "Da Vinci Code" image problem

By Claudia Parsons
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Portrayed in the best-selling novel "The Da Vinci Code" as a secretive cult willing to murder to defend a fictional 2,000-year-old Catholic cover-up, Opus Dei is promoting its softer side before the movie of the book arrives in May.

Published in March 2003, Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" is one of the most popular books in publishing history with more than 40 million copies in print worldwide in 44 languages.

The book is also controversial because the plot stems from the idea Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, and had children. Because of this, the novel has been condemned by the Roman Catholic Church.

"It's very sad that Opus Dei and the Catholic Church were portrayed unfairly in the novel," said Opus Dei spokesman Brian Finnerty. "What we're trying to do is take advantage of the interest to explain what the real Opus Dei is all about."

Opus Dei is a far-flung, conservative Catholic organization blessed by the Pope in 1982 with a special status in the church. Founded in 1928 in Spain by Jose Maria Escriva with a mission to teach Catholics to strive for holiness through their work, Opus Dei has 85,000 members worldwide, of which around 2,000 are priests. Escriva was made a saint in 2002.

But as the whipping boy of church liberals for years and with estranged members telling of coercive recruitment tactics and corporal mortification, Opus Dei has been controversial. Now, because of "The Da Vinci Code," it has to do even more to overcome the unblessed image portrayed by the book.

Opus Dei appears in the story as a shadowy cult whose henchman is a murderous albino monk named Silas, who makes himself bleed with a cilice -- a spiked metal belt strapped tight around the upper thigh -- for penance.

Passersby who approach the organization's 17-story building in Manhattan are invited to reach for a leaflet to learn about the real Opus Dei, which means "God's work."

Finnerty's job these days is to promote the group and give reporters tours of the building, a $69 million corner edifice in midtown Manhattan housing a luxurious conference center on five floors as well as accommodations and offices for around 65 members.

COUNTRY-HOUSE STYLE

Waiting rooms and lounges are furnished in country-house style with leather armchairs, antique-style furniture and elegant bookshelves carrying religious and historical works as well as novels by the likes of Willa Cather and Jane Austen.
An airy conservatory leads out to a roof-top terrace with deck-chairs, potted plants and a small statue of the Virgin and Child. Two middle-aged men were discussing "investment philosophy" in the conservatory when a visitor passed through.

A few floors down is what looks like a hotel VIP lounge with a grand piano and views of the iconic Chrysler Building.

"It's like a very nice home," Finnerty said. "It's not at all like a monastery or a 'Da Vinci Code' setting. You won't see anyone like Silas walking through here dripping blood."

John Allen, author of a book on Opus Dei, said it had long been a "lightening rod" for liberal Catholics to criticize.

"Dan Brown didn't make up the idea of Opus Dei as the boogeyman of the Catholic Church," Allen told Reuters in a phone interview from Rome, where he reports on the Vatican.

"Critics would often say Opus Dei is a very conservative version of Catholicism. Some would say it is a very worldly version of Catholicism focused on wealth and power," he said.

The late Pope John Paul II was an admirer of Opus Dei, but Allen said its influence was not as strong as some think.

Allen said just two of the 115 cardinals who elected Pope Benedict were Opus Dei, and the group claimed only around 40 of the world's 4,500 bishops as members.

"They simply don't have the stranglehold on power that people imagine," Allen said, adding that Opus Dei's wealth was also exaggerated by critics. Worldwide assets were around $2.8 billion, he said, with U.S. assets of $350 million -- around the same as a mid-sized diocese.

Finnerty emphasized Opus Dei's charitable work, including schools and hospitals in the United States and Africa.

But some former members writing on the Web site of the Opus Dei Awareness Network say that aspect is overshadowed by coercive and cult-like recruitment tactics that alienate members from their families and pressure people into harmful practices such as the use of the cilice.

Marc Carroggio, an Opus Dei spokesman brought in from Rome as a reinforcement before the film, said corporal mortification was a small and "marginal" element of Opus Dei, and voluntary. Finnerty added that Mother Theresa wore a form of a cilice.

He said Opus Dei wrote to Sony Pictures asking them to leave the organization out of the movie but to no avail, so it now aims to use the film as a "teaching moment."
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This doesn't surprise me too much, partly because the Bible warned this sort of garbage would happen, and partly because many churches do indeed just plain not care about Genesis in a literal sense, or in fact, many parts of the Bible. Of course, im still surprised just a wee bit....
WTUF (bolded)?
I've come across a person's interpretation that the bible contains 8,362 prophecies. Would you care to elaborate on how each and everyone of them are fulfilled, and SPECIFICALLY how this issue qualifies as prophecied/warned "garbage"?
I think it's one of the best things to ever happen to both sides. Truly.

see http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=10415035&postcount=15

Exactly. Only a handful of Christians have a problem with evolution. They just happen to be a very noisy handful in the US.

The majority of Christian denominations fully accept evolution and reject creation science.

Creation science: now there's an oxymoron if ever I heard one...

Creation science: now there's an oxymoron if ever I heard one...
Well, what's in a name?
With the Christian Science Monitor, there are actually quite a few good articles. To be fair, though, i don't know if that's meant to be a play on words or not.

It's a little weird that something this relatively significant happens, and as frolificly vociferous as a lot of folk here are about the subject, there's so little response. Oh well, last *bump*.
I think that thread about keeping a thread up (and as well, the point my wife made) explained it well that there needs to be more polarity or something .. maybe centrism is truly doomed in the ol' melting pot.